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| Photo: Cestari/WSL A man's shed is his haven and Taj Burrow hopes it is also about to become his secret weapon. The Australian star wants to put a disappointing Bells Beach result behind him at the Margaret River Pro, round three of the World Surf League. Burrow grew up at the WA coastal town of Yallingup, only half an hour north of the competition site. He does not claim much home-ground advantage - Burrow usually surfs at Margaret River only in competition. But if the big waves arrive as forecast, he will be well-placed for a strong result. "The one thing that I think is an advantage is because I'm at home, I have all of my equipment here ready go to," he said. "I have a garage full of surfboards. "I will take any edge I can get. I heard that some of the guys are scrambling to get some bigger boards." The forecast big swells would be a pleasant change after the opening two rounds at Snapper Rocks and Bells Beach. Snapper Rocks, where Burrow finished fifth, went two days over the waiting period because of poor conditions. Bells Beach was also flukey and Burrow was among those who were eliminated in the third round as they struggled with tricky conditions. "It was pretty disappointing at Bells for me," he said. "I just wasn't feeling confident ... I just ended up being out of sync. "I couldn't get too angry, but I'm looking to turn it around." The forecast is for significant swells for the first two days on Wednesday and Thursday. While it was blowing a gale at the competition site on Tuesday, Burrow said that was also expected to ease. "It's like the edge of the earth here and we get some pretty extreme conditions," he said. "The forecast looks as good as it gets. "The whole coast is going to come to life with eight to 10-foot surf." Mick Fanning's win at Bells Beach means the Australian has joined teenage Brazilian phenomenon Filipe Toledo at the top of the men's rankings. Burrow, who has finished in the world top 10 every year since 2002, is equal ninth. Hawaiian Carissa Moore has won the first two women's rounds and is also defending champion at Margaret River. Source: AAP |
